Must-See TV
Army Of Darkness
ElRey
5 p.m.
A discount-store employee is time-warped to a medieval castle, where he is the foretold savior who can dispel the evil there. Unfortunately, he screws up and releases an army of skeletons. (tvguide.com)

The [Tuesday] Papers

"At 25.1 percent, Chicago's rate of 'negative equity' was third-highest among major U.S. cities, according to Zillow, an online real estate marketplace. The area was behind only Las Vegas, at 26.4 percent, and Atlanta, at 26.1 percent."

"A 33-year-old man has been sentenced to 16 years to life in prison for killing a former Major League Baseball outfielder at a homeless encampment . . .

"[Rodney] Craig played parts of four seasons, from 1979 to 1986, for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. He was the first player to sign and be developed by the Mariners who reached the majors.

"It is unclear how and when Craig ended up living on the streets of downtown L.A."

"The West Loop campaign headquarters of mayoral candidate Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia has some fun touches, like the 'emergency mustache' box - 'You never know when you might need one' - and the supporter's painting of Garcia as Superman propped up next to the basket of neighbor-baked banana muffins, each individually wrapped and stamped with a different Chuy-licious, go-get-'em message.

"But there is not much private meeting space in the converted restaurant, where several dozen brown, black and white volunteers of all ages are online and on the phone on Garcia's behalf in the final days ahead of the April 7 runoff. And this, too, the candidate's friend and three-time former campaign manager, Chicago Alderman Ricardo Munoz, blames on the current mayor, Rahm Emanuel.

'"Nobody wanted to rent to us,' says Munoz, who'd volunteered to find his former mentor, now a Cook County commissioner, the right HQ. Owners really feared the wrath of Rahmbo more than an empty building? 'It's the Chicago way,' he says mildly. 'Happens all the time.'"

Welcome to Chicago, Melinda Henneberger.

*

"On the airwaves that Emanuel's campaign and the PAC that supports him are indeed blanketing, the anti-Garcia commercials would be almost comical if viewers could see the small-print disclaimers: That raise Garcia voted himself, because he's 'out for himself, not us,'' was as a member of the state senate, in 1998. And his support for the 'biggest property tax increase ever' was as an alderman in 1987, when the city was on the brink of bankruptcy. Then as now, tough choices were the only choice."

"The report pushes back against the austerity agenda being pursued by Mayor Emanuel and the credit rating agencies on Wall Street, which recently downgraded the credit rating of the city and Chicago Public Schools, triggering hundreds of millions in possible taxpayer handouts to banks.

"It lays out specific immediately actionable and long-term policy proposals for getting Chicago's finances back on track without unconstitutional grabs at retiree pensions, cuts to vital services, and toxic bank fees and payouts."

I'm surprised and disheartened by the mild reaction to this; I'm always disappointed when journalists go into PR, which is essentially what he's doing as an industry advocate (he'll be involved in "strategic planning"). If you must leave the industry, there is a whole world of career options out there; why choose the one most diametrically opposed to the values and principles of journalism? "I'm in the truth business, but I'm thinking of getting into the lying business instead. Pays better."

Also, it tells you something about what kind of reporter a person was. In this case, the reporter was someone completely agreeable to the industry he covered! A guy who never gave them too much of a problem and won't have trouble adjusting to his new role.